NASCAR: Denny Hamlin signs his 50th victory in the Cup Series and his 7th in his career at Pocono

LONG POND, Pa. — Denny Hamlin returned to winning ways at Pocono Raceway on Sunday in the NASCAR Cup Series, a year after his first spot at the same oval was taken from him.

The triumph is not only Hamlin’s seventh at Pocono, which is a record, but also his 50th career Cup Series success.

At the same time, Hamlin also gave the Toyota team its 600th victory in NASCAR.

For the second year in a row, Hamlin passed Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon for the same number of hits at Long Pond.

Except that in 2022, the first two places in the standings obtained by Hamlin and his former teammate of Joe Gibbs, Kyle Busch, had been taken away from them due to the violation of a regulation relating to the aerodynamics of the car.

Hamlin had then become the first winning driver disqualified in the Cup Series since 1960.

« It was a huge disappointment for us last year, » conceded team owner Joe Gibbs. Let’s hope that today everything will be in order on inspection! »

Hamlin and Kyle Larson fought hard in the final laps, before the three-time Daytona 500 winner pulled away on the final restart.

His 50th win came on his 635th Cup Series start, a career that began in 2004.

Tyler Reddick finished second and Martin Truex Jr. completed the podium, a week after winning in New Hampshire. Kevin Harvick and Ty Gibbs completed the top-5.

As for Larson, he slowed the pace quite a bit at the very end, containing himself from the 21st echelon. He lost several places after a slight collision with Hamlin.